In the conventional art, for example in a copying machine, there is installed a paper feeding device that supplies copy paper, and that is provided with a plurality of paper feeding cassettes for each copy paper size. For conveying the copy paper from the paper feeding device, lateral feed where the transport direction coincides with the crosswise direction of the copy paper, is preferred in terms of transport time to longitudinal feed where the transport direction coincides with the lengthwise direction of the copy paper. Some copying machines even feed laterally copy paper sheets of B4 and A3 sizes.
However, feeding large size copy paper laterally causes the photoreceptor drum, the transport rollers, the transport path of the paper, and other parts inside the copying machine to become large. As a result the copying machine itself becomes large and bulky, and its cost rises. Hence generally, the method of feeding longitudinally copy paper of a large size such as A3 or B4, and feeding laterally copy paper of a size smaller than A4, is adopted.
However, with such an arrangement, in a copying machine provided with a variable magnification function that performs reductions and enlargements, for instance B5R and A4R paper feeding cassettes that feed the copy paper longitudinally are necessary to perform reduced copying. In addition, when thinking of transport time, A4 and B5 paper feeding cassettes that feed the copy paper laterally, are also necessary. Accordingly, when it comes to installing those different types of paper feeding cassettes, either the paper feeding device has to be designed in a large size, or the paper feeding cassettes must be changed as occasion calls. This causes the size of the copying machine to be large and its cost to rise, or the operation of the copying machine to become complicated.
Hence, in order to avoid such a problem, an arrangement is suggested as disclosed in the Japanese Publication for Unexamined Patent Application No. 59245/1981 and No. 123859/1984, (Tokukaisho No. 56-59245 and Tokukaisho No. 59-123859). Namely, a common paper feeding cassette is used both as B5 paper feeding cassette and B5R paper feeding cassette, and a common paper feeding cassette is used both as A4 paper feeding cassette and A4R paper feeding cassette. The copy paper is fed laterally or longitudinally by rotating the paper feeding cassettes.
However, with the above conventional arrangement, when copy paper of the same size is stored in a rotatable cassette that is capable of rotating to a longitudinal feed position to feed the copy paper longitudinally, or to a lateral feed position to feed the copy paper laterally, and in a fixed cassette that is fixed in either longitudinal feed position or lateral feed position, how to set the relationship between the feed positions of both cassettes has not been taken into consideration. As a result, the above conventional arrangement suffers from the drawback that the time needed for feeding the required amount of copy paper sheets in the copying machine is not satisfactory yet.